#2ndaryELA Twitter Chat on Tuesday 4/2 Topic: Mentor Texts and Sentences

Brynn Allison, The Literary Maven, & Lisa Spangler, Mrs. Spangler in the Middle, host #2ndaryELA on Twitter every Tuesday evening from 8 - 8:30 PM EST. #2ndaryELA is a weekly chat for secondary English Language Arts teachers focused on a topic. Every Sunday, we post the topic and questions on our blogs to allow you to prepare for the upcoming Tuesday evening's chat. Thank you to everyone who joined us last week and we hope that you will join us again.

We'd also love for you to join our 2ndaryELA Facebook group, even if you aren't on Twitter. 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, resource links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction.

On Tuesday, April 2, our #2ndaryELA chat will be about using mentor texts and sentences in the classroom.

The Directions:
1. Log into Twitter on Tuesday from 8-8:30 PM EST.
2. Search for tweets with the hashtag #2ndaryELA in the search bar. Make sure to click “Latest.”
3. Introductions are for the first 5 minutes.
4. Starting at 8:05 (@literarymaven or @2peasandadog) will post questions every 5 minutes using the format Q1, Q2, Q3, etc. and the hashtag #2ndaryELA.
5. Respond to questions using the format A1, A2, A3, etc. with #2ndaryELA.
6. Follow any teachers responding and who are also using #2ndaryELA.
7. Like and respond to other teachers' tweets.

You can schedule your responses to the questions ahead of time using a scheduler like TweetDeck or HootSuite (but don't forget to use A1, A2, etc. and #2ndaryELA). Links are encouraged, so be sure to use a link shortener like tinyurl, bitly, goo.gl or ow.ly Just visit one of those links and paste your long link to shorten it for Twitter. Using images is also encouraged when relevant.

New to chats? Here are the rules:
1. Stay on topic & stay positive!
2. Please do not post or promote paid products unless specifically asked.
3. If you arrive late, try to look through other posts before beginning.
4. Feel free to just read, like, and/or retweet.
5. Always use our hashtag #2ndaryELA, including in your replies to others.
6. Make sure your twitter feed is set to public. (Also keep in mind that Twitter is completely public – that means students, parents, and administrators can and will read what you tweet.)

You can also check out a quick video tutorial in this blog post.

Be sure to spread the word to any teacher friends who might be interested in joining us as well. We look forward to chatting with you Tuesday evening and in our 2ndaryELA Facebook group!

Get caught up on past chats here:

Inspiring Student Writing with Mentor Texts & Sentences

This #2ndaryELA Twitter chat was all about using mentor texts and sentences to inspire student writing. Middle school and high school English Language Arts teachers discussed the purposes of using mentor texts and sentences as models for student writing. Teachers also shared where and how they find mentor texts and sentences to engage their students. Read through the chat below to also find out how to connect what students learn from mentor sentences to larger writing assignments.

Hope you'll join us next week for another chat. We'd also love for you to join our 2ndaryELA Facebook group (even if you aren't on Twitter). 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction.

Inspiring Student Writing with Mentor Texts & Sentences

#2ndaryELA Twitter Chat on Tuesday 4/10 Topic: Mentor Texts & Sentences

Brynn Allison, The Literary Maven & Kristy, 2 Peas and a Dog host #2ndaryELA on Twitter every Tuesday evening from 8 - 8:30 PM EST. #2ndaryELA is a weekly chat for secondary English Language Arts teachers focused on a topic. Every Sunday, we post the topic and questions on our blogs to allow you to prepare for the upcoming Tuesday evening's chat. Thank you to everyone who joined us last week and we hope that you will join us again.

We'd also love for you to join our 2ndaryELA Facebook group, even if you aren't on Twitter. 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, resource links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction.

On Tuesday, April 10, our #2ndaryELA chat will be about using mentor texts and sentences.

The Format:
8:00 – What and where do you teach? Include a link to your blog if you have one. #2ndaryELA
8:05 Q1: Do you use mentor texts as models for writing in your classroom? For what purposes? #2ndaryELA
8:10 Q2: Where/how do you find mentor texts that will engage and inspire your students? #2ndaryELA
8:15 Q3: Do you use mentor sentences as models for writing in your classroom? For what purposes? #2ndaryELA
8:20 Q4: Where/how do you find mentor sentences that will engage and inspire your students? #2ndaryELA
8:25 Q5: How do you connect what students learn from working with mentor sentences with larger writing assignments? #2ndaryELA

The Directions:
1. Log into Twitter on Tuesday from 8-8:30 PM EST.
2. Search for tweets with the hashtag #2ndaryELA in the search bar. Make sure to click “Latest.”
3. Introductions are for the first 5 minutes.
4. Starting at 8:05 (@literarymaven or @2peasandadog) will post questions every 5 minutes using the format Q1, Q2, Q3, etc. and the hashtag #2ndaryELA.
5. Respond to questions using the format A1, A2, A3, etc. with #2ndaryELA.
6. Follow any teachers responding and who are also using #2ndaryELA.
7. Like and respond to other teachers' tweets.

You can schedule your responses to the questions ahead of time using a scheduler like TweetDeck or HootSuite (but don't forget to use A1, A2, etc. and #2ndaryELA). Links are encouraged, so be sure to use a link shortener like tinyurl, bitly, goo.gl or ow.ly Just visit one of those links and paste your long link to shorten it for Twitter. Using images is also encouraged when relevant.

New to chats? Here are the rules:
1. Stay on topic & stay positive!
2. Please do not post or promote paid products unless specifically asked.
3. If you arrive late, try to look through other posts before beginning.
4. Feel free to just read, like, and/or retweet.
5. Always use our hashtag #2ndaryELA, including in your replies to others.
6. Make sure your twitter feed is set to public. (Also keep in mind that Twitter is completely public – that means students, parents, and administrators can and will read what you tweet.)

You can also check out a quick video tutorial in this blog post.

Be sure to spread the word to any teacher friends who might be interested in joining us as well. We look forward to chatting with you Tuesday evening and in our 2ndaryELA Facebook group!

Get caught up on past chats here:

On My Bookshelf: Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

The basic plot from Amazon: A captivating novel about mental illness that lingers long beyond the last page, Challenger Deep is a heartfelt tour de force by New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman.

Caden Bosch is on a ship that's headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench.
Caden Bosch is a brilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behavior.
Caden Bosch is designated the ship's artist in residence to document the journey with images.
Caden Bosch pretends to join the school track team but spends his days walking for miles, absorbed by the thoughts in his head.
Caden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny.
Caden Bosch is torn.

Challenger Deep is a deeply powerful and personal novel from one of today's most admired writers for teens. Laurie Halse Anderson, award-winning author of Speak, calls Challenger Deep "a brilliant journey across the dark sea of the mind; frightening, sensitive, and powerful. Simply extraordinary."

Why I liked it: Challenger Deep is a novel that portrays the reality of mental illness, not the
romanticized version too often depicted in film and literature. The novel begins with a note from the author, in which he discusses his personal experiences and shares that the artwork in the book are his son's drawings. The novel very clearly illustrates the toll mental illness takes upon one's family and friends, but also the misunderstandings about mental health. One character Callie, who has had repeat trips to the mental hospital, laments that each time she returns home her family does not understand that she isn't "fixed."

I struggled with reading the book at first because the narrator bounces between reality and his alternate reality of life on a pirate, but the connection between the two becomes clearer as the novel progresses.

Classroom application: Challenger Deep could be paired with nonfiction texts about mental health issues. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks, a set of case studies focused on the most interesting of Dr. Sack's patients with neurological disorders, would be a great pairing.

Neal Shusterman's writing style also makes this novel a great source of mentor sentences. 

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Challenger Deep for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

The basic plot from Amazon: A new YA novel from novelist Patrick Ness, author of the Carnegie Medal- and Kate Greenaway Medal-winning A Monster Calls and the critically acclaimed Chaos Walking trilogy, The Rest of Us Just Live Here is a bold and irreverent novel that powerfully reminds us that there are many different types of remarkable.

What if you aren't the Chosen One? The one who's supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

What if you're like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again.

Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week's end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.

Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions.

Why I liked it: The main plot line in The Rest of Us Just Live Here is fairly normal. Mike and Mel are brother and sister, just a year apart. He suffers from OCD and she is all recovering from anorexia.  Their mother is a state senator running for Congress, their father is an alcoholic, and both contribute to the stress triggering Mike and Mel's issues. Since Mike and Mel are about to graduate high school and head off to college, they are especially concerned as to how their younger sister, whom they consider to be the best of all of them, will fare without them.

The subplot lines in the novel incorporate elements of fantasy and the supernatural. For example, Jared is Mike's gay best friend whose father runs against their mother in every political race, but he is also part god with healing powers and the strange ability to attract cats. There's also Nathan, a new guy at school, whom Mike suspects Nathan has something to do with the mysterious deaths of the indie kids. And then there's some zombie-like creatures, explosions, and incidents in the past that adults won't speak of.

Classroom application: This would be a great add to your high school classroom library as it would appeal to male and female students, realistic fiction and fantasy fans alike.

There are some very tender, small moments in the novel that could be used in excerpt form as mentor texts. Mike and Mel's visit with their grandmother, when Mike helps Mel eat by feeding her, and when Jared calms Mike after some incessant hand washing are all moments from the novel that could stand alone and serve as a model of how to focus in on a moment in time.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of The Rest of Us Just Live Here for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

#2ndaryELA Twitter Chat Topic: Mentor Texts & Sentences

Brynn Allison, The Literary Maven & Kristy, 2 Peas and a Dog host #2ndaryELA on Twitter every Tuesday evening from 8 - 8:30 PM EST. #2ndaryELA is a weekly chat for secondary English Language Arts teachers focused on a topic. Every Sunday, we post the topic and questions on our blogs to allow you to prepare for the upcoming Tuesday evening's chat. Thank you to everyone who joined us last night and we hope that you will join us again.

Looking for the recap? Click on the image below.

New in 2016 is our 2ndaryELA Facebook group, which we would love to have you join even if you aren't on Twitter. 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, resource links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction.

On Tuesday, November 29, our #2ndaryELA chat will be about mentor texts and sentences.

The Format:
8:00 Intros: What and where do you teach? Include a link to your blog if you have one. #2ndaryELA
8:05 Q1: Do you use mentor texts as models for writing in your classroom? For what purposes? #2ndaryELA
8:10 Q2: Where/how do you find mentor texts that will engage and inspire your students? #2ndaryELA
8:15 Q3: Do you use mentor sentences as models for writing in your classroom? For what purposes? #2ndaryELA
8:20 Q4: Where/how do you find mentor sentences that will engage and inspire your students? #2ndaryELA
8:25 Q5: How do you connect what students learn from working with mentor sentences with larger writing assignments? #2ndaryELA

The Directions:
1. Log into Twitter on Tuesday from 8-8:30 PM EST.
2. Search for tweets with the hashtag #2ndaryELA in the search bar. Make sure to click “All tweets.”
3. Introductions are for the first 5 minutes.
4. Starting at 8:05 (@literarymaven or @2peasandadog) will post questions every 5 minutes using the format Q1, Q2, Q3, etc. and the hashtag #2ndaryELA.
5. Respond to questions using the format A1, A2, A3, etc. with #2ndaryELA.
6. Follow any teachers responding and who are also using #2ndaryELA.
7. Like and respond to other teachers' tweets.

You can schedule your responses to the questions ahead of time using a scheduler like TweetDeck or HootSuite (but don't forget to use A1, A2, etc. and #2ndaryELA). Links are encouraged, so be sure to use a link shortener like tinyurl, bitly, goo.gl or ow.ly Just visit one of those links and paste your long link to shorten it for Twitter. Using images is also encouraged when relevant.

New to chats? Here are the rules:
1. Stay on topic & stay positive!
2. Please do not post or promote paid products unless specifically asked.
3. If you arrive late, try to look through other posts before beginning.
4. Feel free to just read, like, and/or retweet.
5. Always use our hashtag #2ndaryELA, including in your replies to others.
6. Make sure your twitter feed is set to public. (Also keep in mind that Twitter is completely public – that means students, parents, and administrators can and will read what you tweet.)

Be sure to spread the word to any teacher friends who might be interested in joining us as well. We look forward to chatting with you Tuesday evening and in our 2ndaryELA Facebook group!

Get caught up on past chats here:

On My Bookshelf: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

The basic plot from Amazon: In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen ­year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, this will change the way you look at life, love, and family. Now a major motion picture starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.

Why I liked it: If I Stay is filled with a cast of wonderful characters. Mia, the main character is talented and humble, with an adorable younger brother Teddy and slightly eccentric, but humorous parents. She has a thoughtful boyfriend, Adam, and a supportive best friend, Kim. She's got kind grandparents and hip family friends. Her biggest problem her senior year of high school is that acceptance to Julliard as a cello player will put even greater distance between her and the growing success of Adam's band. 

When disaster strikes, a terrible car accident which leaves

Mia in critical condition and kills the rest of her immediate family, she must make a choice between living and dying. The novel flashes between past and present as she dwells on the defining moments of her life and the relationships with her loved ones, living and deceased. I won't tell you what her final decision is, but toward the end of the novel, I began to be annoyed by her indecision and the idea that the choice was entirely up to her (as opposed to medicine, God, or whatever it is that you believe in). However, I did like it enough to want to read the next book in the series, Where She Went.   

Classroom application: If I Stay is an appropriate addition to either a middle school or high school classroom library and will likely appeal to your female students most. Mia's debate over staying or leaving would spark interesting classroom discussion. You could ask students to compile their own list of defining moments in their young lives and which way they would be swayed.

The author also seamlessly weaves together the past and present, so the novel could be used a mentor text for examining the literary technique of flashback. 

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of If I Stay for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: On The Come Up by Hannah Weyer

Basic plot from Amazon: Based on a true story, an impassioned and propulsive debut novel about a headstrong girl from Far Rockaway, Queens, who is trying to find her place in the world.

Written in an urban vernacular that’s electrifying and intimate, On the Come Up introduces a heroine whose voice is irrepressible, dynamic, and unstintingly honest. Thirteen-year-old AnnMarie Walker dreams of a world beyond Far Rockaway, where the sway of the neighborhood keeps her tied to old ideas about success. While attending a school for pregnant teens, AnnMarie comes across a flyer advertising movie auditions in Manhattan. Astonishingly, improbably, and four months before she’s due to give birth—she lands a lead role. For a time, AnnMarie soars—acting for the camera, flying to the Sundance Film Festival, seeing her face on-screen. But when the film fades from view and the realities of her life set in, AnnMarie’s grit and determination are the only tools left to keep her moving forward.

Told with remarkable compassion and based on the real-life story of Anna Simpson, whom the author met during the filming of the award-winning Our Song, Hannah Weyer’s debut novel is an incredible act of literary ventriloquism that powerfully illuminates the lives of the urban unseen.

Why I liked it: In On the Come Up, AnnMarie begins the novel as a 13 year old girl struggling to take care of her mother and herself. The novel covers all sorts of teenage issues: abuse (both physical and sexual), gangs, drug use, violence, sexual identity, teenage pregnancy, mean girls, relationships, etc. but what struck me most was the character's voice.

"She didn't know why Brittany hated her, just that she did. It all got started sometime last year, Brittany saying, Stay away from Rashad. AnnMarie'd said, Rashad? Who the f*ck Rashad? But it didn't matter, they jumped her anyway and it went on from there...

AnnMarie stared daggers into that girl. She hope they eyes meet so Brittany could feel the cut, all them blades slicing her apart. But Brittany didn't notice. Her arm shot up, waving to somebody across the auditorium. F*ck that girl."

Classroom application: I am always looking for strong African American female characters to share with my students. Too often the books they are reading with African American female characters fall under my definition of "sexy trash." In On The Come Up, AnnMarie's speech and thoughts are that of a real urban teenager. She isn't perfect, she doesn't make all the right choices (or all the wrong ones), and every day is a struggle. This is no ghettoized romance novel. There is no happy ending, though there is some hope that AnnMarie is growing and learning from her past mistakes.

I also think I could use excerpts from this book for examples as I teach my students narrative writing in following Linda Christensen's ideas from Teaching for Joy and Justice. Show them an example of good dialogue and then have them write their own. Show them an example of good "blocking" (description of a character's actions) and then have them write their own.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of On the Come Up for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

The basic plot from Amazon: Cinder is back and trying to break out of prison―even though she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive if she does―in this second installment from Marissa Meyer.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother, or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana.

Why I liked it: Scarlet, Book 2 of the Lunar Chronicles, is a play on the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. SEveral new characters are introduced. Cinder (the Cinderella of Book 1 of the series) makes her escape from prison with the help of Cadet "Captain" Throne.

There's also Scarlet, whose grandmother, a military pilot turned farmer, is missing. It is later revealed that she was kidnapped and is being interrogated for playing a part in hiding Princess Selene years ago. Scarlet's father, an alcoholic who abandoned her, make a brief appearance at the start of the novel. He returns to the farm after being tortured, but isn't sure what he is looking for. Then there is Wolf, who claims to be part of a "gang" that his older brother was also recruited into. Both were cut off from the rest of their family after joining. The "gang" turns out to be Queen Levena's beast army, packs of wolf-like men controlled by their leader. Throughout the novel, Scarlet and the reader are never sure if Wolf can be trusted.

By the end of the novel, Iko (Cinder's android sidekick from Book 1) is back in action, Cinder finally learns about the missing years of her life, between the accident and her adoption, and Wolf's love for his alpha female (Scarlet) trumps the power of his pack leader. Because Prince Kai has agreed to marry Queen Levena in one month's time as a way to stop the Lunar attacks on Earth, Cinder finally decides to stop running away, learn to use her powers, and fight Queen Levena.

Classroom application: This novel could be used as a mentor text for multiple, intersecting plot lines; Cinder and Throne's life as fugitives and Scarlet and Wolf's search for her grandmother are equally developed. The book could also be used to examine the literary concept of character foils as both Cinder and Throne and Scarlet and Wolf are contrasting characters.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Scarlet for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: China Dolls by Lisa See

The basic plot from Amazon: It’s 1938 in San Francisco: a world’s fair is preparing to open on Treasure Island, a war is brewing overseas, and the city is alive with possibilities. Grace, Helen, and Ruby, three young women from very different backgrounds, meet by chance at the exclusive and glamorous Forbidden City nightclub. Grace Lee, an American-born Chinese girl, has fled the Midwest with nothing but heartache, talent, and a pair of dancing shoes. Helen Fong lives with her extended family in Chinatown, where her traditional parents insist that she guard her reputation like a piece of jade. The stunning Ruby Tom challenges the boundaries of convention at every turn with her defiant attitude and no-holds-barred ambition.

The girls become fast friends, relying on one another through unexpected challenges and shifting fortunes. When their dark secrets are exposed and the invisible thread of fate binds them even tighter, they find the strength and resilience to reach for their dreams. But after the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, paranoia and suspicion threaten to destroy their lives, and a shocking act of betrayal changes everything.

Why I liked it: Ruby, Grace, and Helen are all in San Francisco pre-World War II for different reasons. Ruby is hiding her Japanese identity and trying to make it on her own. Grace has run away from her abusive father and is also hoping to become a star. Helen is suffering under her father's protective, traditional Chinese ways and a haunting past.

Despite their differences, the three girls connect, become close friends, and active in the San Francisco nightlife, dancing at nightclubs and the Golden Gate International Exposition. As the war approaches, it becomes more and more difficult for Ruby to hide her true identity. She and Grace quarrel over a love interest, and Helen becomes entangled with a male dancer masking his homosexual lifestyle. While each of the girls had their own separate struggles, by the war's end they have a chance to reunite and dance together again. The novel ends with the girls in old age looking back on all they have accomplished.

And oh the drama! The three girls in China Dolls have a very close friendship, but that doesn't mean there isn't jealousy, secrets, and betrayals. A trio of friends has a special dynamic and the author realistically captures how one friend is always trying to one up another to be the "best" friend.

The time period is also one of my favorites and the book gives you an interesting look at life for women during WWII.

Classroom application: This novel could be a selection for literature circles focused on the theme of racism. The novel touches on the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, but even more heavily focuses on the discrimination Asians faced in their day to day life. During that time period there were laws against marrying Caucasians. In the classroom, our discussions around racism too often focus on African Americans. It is important for students to know that our groups faced similar struggles.

Like with Panic, you could also use it as a mentor text to have students practice writing from alternating perspectives and developing multiple, intersecting plot lines (part of the narrative writing standards for grades 11-12), except this has three alternating narrators, not just two. Developing each of the three characters equally would definitely be a challenge.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of China Dolls for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.
Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.